SHAKESPEARE 



A SYLLABUS OF TWELVE LECTURES 



BY 



EDWARD HOWARD GRIGGS 



PRICE 25 CENTS 



Copyright, 1904, by Edward Howard Griggs 



R. W. HUEBSCH 

Publisher 

150 NASSAU STREET 

NEW YORK 



opy e. 

SUBJECTS OF THE LECTURES. 

\ 

PAGE. 

1. The Humanity of Shakespeare 4 

2. The Early Aspect: A Midsummer Night's Dream. . . 7 

3. The Ethical Awakening: The Merchant of Venice. ... 

4. The Relief in Nature: As You Like It. ..... . 12 

5. The Individual and the State: Julius Caesar 14 

6. World Forces and i5^^ Individual : Antony and Cleopatra. . 17 

7. Facing the Myster^: Hamlet 20 

8. The Tragedy of Love and Jealousy: Othello 23 

9. The Tragedy of Unfounded Trust: Lear 20 

10. The Tragedy of Ambition: Macbeth 29 

11. The Story of Human Life: The Winter's Tale 32 

12. The Final Attitude: The Tempest 35 

Book List 38 



The lectures in this course will consider a number of selected plays 
of Shakespeare, chosen as expressing the typical aspects of his work 
and as revealing the unfolding of his genius and the changes in his 
attitude toward human life. Though Shakespeare is the most ob- 
jective dramatist in all literature, never speaking through the lips 
of the characters he portrays, nevertheless the general atmosphere 
and moral background of every play reveal the author; and while the 
traditions of Shakespeare's outer life are meagre and unsatisfying, 
we may know intimately the mind which created these dramas, not 
only in its essential spirit, but in the unfolding of its power and the 
development of its faith and philosophy of life. 

Men of genius so astonish us that they get placed apart from 
human life, on a pedestal, as unexplained marvels descending from 
above. We need to recognize that genius springs from the deep soil 
of common life; that while talent may mean exaggerated faculty, 
genius is humanity raised to a higher plane of expression. Men of 
genius are more and not less human than the rest of us, and the 
height of their interpretation of life is always measured by the 
depth of their living and appreciation of common experiences. 

It is the more necessary that we seek to appreciate this of Shake- 
speare since he is, of all masters in literature, the greatest poet of 
lumianity. Less consciously philosophical than Dante or Goethe, 
without the gloom, the spiritual aspiration and the moral sublimity 
of the one, without the subtle interpretation of the complex deeps 
of personal life in the other, Shakespeare more than any other poet 
"holds the mirror up to Nature," portrays all phases of life in rela- 
tion to law, wakens from the countless chords of the human heart 
the strange, deep, beautiful symphony of humanity. Sanest of poets, 
perhaps of men, in Shakespeare form and content are evenly 
balanced, the ideal and the practical world are in sound harmony, 
character is portrayed with earnest realism, but the laws of life are 
seen to come full circle with the perfect justice of poetic idealism. 
With all his facing of those deeps where man's spirit is in tragic 
conflict, there is no sneer, no bitterness in Shakespeare's portrayal 
of life. He kept his faith in human virtue, he kept his faith in 
human love, he kept his faith in the worth and meaning of human 
life. Thus to appreciate the range and depth of character in all 
tj^pes of manhood and womanhood, to understand, painted not on 
the background of a possible future world, but in colors of life on 
the changing screen of time and nature, the working out of the great 
forces which dominate man's spirit, Shakespeare is the perennial 
source to which we return. 3 



I. THE HUMANITY OF SHAKESPEABL 

Introduction. — Relation of men of genius to the world. Tendency 
to place them apart from common life as unexplained marvels. 
Need to recognize that gi*eat art springs from the deeps of life, and 
that men of genius have been more and not less human tlian other 
men. Especial need to recognize this in the case of Shakespeare 
owing to the meagre tradition of his life and the objective character 
of his interpretation of humanity. 

The aim of this course. — To appreciate the humanity of Shake- 
speare, and thus: (1) To respond to the poetry and dramatic art of 
Shakespeare; (2) To make his age live again; (3) To know the spirit 
and unfolding of the man who created these dramas; (4) To study 
his expression and interpretation of universal hiunan life. 

The period of Shakespeare.— The Elizabethan age as bearing the 
same relation to England the Renaissance holds to Italy. Causes 
influencing both Italy and England. Further causes affecting Eng- 
land; (1) The direct influence of Italy; (2) Eflfect of the scholars of 
the new learning in an earlier period; (3) Effect of the struggle for 
national existence. Reasons M'hy the drama became the natural 
expression for the practical, utilitarian Anglo-Saxon genius in the 
period of its greatest awakening. 

The life of Shakespeare (1564-1616). — Slight knowledge of 
Shakespeare's outer life, but that little precious. Boyhood at Strat- 
ford-on- the- Avon. Proofs of the deep influence of nature. School- 
ing. Probable significance of the unusual circumstances of his mar- 
riage. To London at about 22. Early period in London. First 
independent play at about 26. From that time onward a steady 
succession of dramas averaging nearly two a year for twenty years. 

Shakespeare's practical ability. Earnings as actor, as dramatist, 
as theatre owner. Applications for "arms" and purchases of prop- 
erty. Remarkable balance and sanity of Shakespeare in relation 
both to the ideal world and the practical. 

Character of Shakespeare's private life in London. Tradition of 
reckless living. Probable truth. Shakespeare's "gentleness." Re- 
turn to Stratford at about 48. Last years and death in 1616. 



Reasons for holding Shakespeare's life adequate to the creation of 
his works: (1) Genius; (2) Influence of Nature; (3) Wide reading; 
(4) Intense and varied experience. 

Revelation of Shakespeare in his works. -Possible to know tL^ 
mind that created these dramas even if the tradition of Shakespeare's 
outer hfe be rejected. Shakespeare the most objective of dramatists 
yet the moral background of every play reveals the author. Fallacy 
m accepting as Shakespeare's the thoughts and opinions expressed bv 
his characters, yet the portrayal of each character in relation to the 
whole of life as revealing Shakespeare. Thus possible to follow the 
development of Shakespeare's artistic power and study the changes 
m his fundamental attitude toward human life by studyin- his 
works m the order of their production as nearly as that ca'n be 
ascertained. 

The three great periods it is worth while to distinguish in Shake- 
speare's working life. The typical plays of each period and the light 
they throw on Shakespeare as artist and man in each of the main 
phases of his life. 

The Sonnets.-A further source of possible light on the character 
and personal life of Shakespeare. Characteristics of the Sonnets as 
compared with preceding Italian and English work in the same form 
Ihe romantic story unfolded by the Sonnets. The opposing theories 
as to their relation to Shakespeare's personality and experience. 
Small ground for any exact autobiographical interpretation of the 
Sonnets; yet reasons for holding that they do represent the kind of 
experience through which Shakespeare must have lived, and for 
believing that the most earnest and sublime of these wonderful 
poems do express actual moods of the author's spirit. 

Characteristics of Shakespeare throughout his work.— (1) Balance 
of content and form. (2) Interpretation of life, but not conscious 
philosophy: ethical teacher, but not didactic moralist. (3) Union 
of realism and idealism. Truth to real world, yet expression of 

tTl'^''..r^^''"^ ^""^ ^^' ^^'"^ ^^ ^'^' brought full circle. 
(4) Breadth of humanity and universality in interpretation of char- 
acter. (5) Sanity throughout, and under all changes persistent faith 
in the worth and meaning of human life. 

Thus Shakespeare the most catholic of artists and the most uni- 
versal poet of humanity. 



Topics for Study and Discussion. 

1. WTiat proof is there of Shakespeare's close love and observation 
of nature in boyhood and youth? 

2. What evidences are there of Shakespeare's wide reading in 
literature and history? 

3. Why was the drama the great artistic expression of English 
genius in the days of Elizabeth? 

4. The effect of the struggle with Spain on Elizabethan England. 

5. Italy's contribution to England in the days of Elizabeth. 

6. What did Shakespeare owe to Marlowe? 

7. In what ways was the drama prepared for Shakespeare's hand? 

8. Contrast the theories of Brandes and Sidney Lee as to the inter- 
pretation of the Sonnets. 

9. Select the five Sonnets you regard as greatest, and show what 
can be inferred from them regarding Shakespeare's personality. 



II. THE EARLY ASPECT: A MIDSUMMER 
NISHrS DREAM. 

Shakespeare's first period. — From his twenty-fourth to his thirty- 
first year (1588-1595) Shakespeare's work of a distinct type and 
without the profound recognition of ethical law and the power of 
character delineation marking his subsequent work. Beginning with 
recasting the plays of others. The character of Shakespeare's work 
on "Titus Andronicus." 

Dramas of the first period dealing with English history. The one 
great tragedy of this period. Later recasting of "Romeo and Juliet." 
Sensuous and poetical character of this tragedy. 

Poems of the first period. Their expression of Shakespeare's 
earliest artistic qualities. The lyrical quality of "Venus and Adonis" 
and "Lucrece" as marking the early dramas. 

The four comedies of the first period. These works as best ex- 
pressing the first phase of Shakespeare both as artist and in attitude 
toward human life. Differences in type among the four comedies. 

"Love's Labor's Lost." — Interesting as probably Shakespeare's first 
independent play (1590?). Its satire on affectations in conduct and 
character. Evidences of immaturity in plot and character drawing. 
General impression: warm love of nature and of healthy human 
life expressed in exuberant poetry. 

"A Midsummer Night's Dream." — This play the most beautiful 
expression of Shakespeare's first period. Written a few years later 
than "Love's Labor's Lost," perhaps when Shakespeare was 29 (1593). 
Distinctly a work of fancy, with slight ethical insight. 

Probability that the play was written to celebrate some wedding. 
Conventionally classical in subject, with no real interpretation of 
Greece. Why Shakespeare failed to enter into the Greek spirit while 
he rendered so faithfully both ancient Rome and renaissance Italy. 

The three groups of characters. — Lords and ladies; Athenian arti- 
sans; fairies. How all three groups belong in Shakespeare's Eng- 
land. The incidental way in which the three groups are brought 
together in the wood. 



The lords and ladles. — Shakespeare^s interpretation of this group 
of characters from within their lives. Theseus as an early type of 
Shakespeare's man of action. Characters of the lovers. Shrewish 
quarrel of Hermia and Helena. 

The common people. — Shakespeare's sympathetic treatment of 
Bottom and his fellows, yet portraying their lives from without 
rather than interpreting them from within. Shakespeare using the 
common people as a burlesque background against which the stately 
pageant of the lives of his kings and queens, lords and ladies, is 
worked out. Shakespeare a humanist, but no democrat. 

The fairies.— Peculiarly English character of the fairies. Contrast 
Greek nymphs and dryads. The fairies accepted by Shakespeare 
from the popular imagination. Contrast "The Tempest," where philo- 
sophic symbols are conscxously developed. Compare Puck and Ariel. 

The love-charm. — Effect of the charm in upsetting ordinary tend- 
encies of character. Thus producing the whimsicalities of a dream. 
Thus the center of interest not in ethical qualities of character, 
but in whimsical incident, charming fancy and transfiguring poetry. 

Solution of the plot. — The end of the dramatic situation really in 
the return from the wood at the close of the fourth act. Yet a 
fifth act to leave an impression of beauty and fanciful humor. 

Summary. — Limitations in Shakespeare's art and insight revealed 
by "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Yet the work of the first period 
possessing its own excellence and charm. The element dominant in 
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" remaining as a permanent though 
usually subordinated element throughout Shakespeare's working 

life. 

Topics for Study and Discussion. 

1. To what extent was Shakespeare able to interpret the Greek 
spirit ? 

2. What evidences of immaturity are there in the character draw- 
ing of "Love's Labor's Lost" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream"? 

3. Compare Puck and Ariel. 

4. The artistic purpose of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." 

5. The characteristics of Shakespeare's first period as revealed by 
**Love's Labor's Lost." 

6. The characteristics of Shakespeare's first period as revealed by 
"A Midsummer Night's Dream." 

7. \Vhat attitude toward human life is revealed by '^Love's Labor*! 
Lost"? 

8. Compare "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with **The Tempest." 



III. THE ETHICAL AWAKENING: THE MERCHANT 
OF VENICE. 

Date of Composition. — Probability that "The Merchant of Venice" 
was written about 1596, when Shakespeare was 32. The preparation 
the ten or twelve plays already written gave Shakespeare. 

Sources. — "The Merchant of Venice" one of the best illustrations 
of Shakespeare's borrowing. The way in which he transfigured his 
material. "The Merchant of Venice" as absolutely Shakespeare's 
own as if its two component stories had not been used before. 

Scene of the action. — Venice at the close of the 16th century: 
greatness largely gone, but wonderful glamour for the imagination. 
Shakespeare's marvelous grasp of the pageant of Venetian life and 
the large freedom of her sensuous existence. Sources of Shake- 
speare's power to interpret Italy as contrasted with Greece. 

Opening scenes. — How frequently Shakespeare strikes the keynote 
of a drama in its opening lines. The sadness of Antonio. Brilliant 
language of the gay young Venetian gentlemen. Dramatic relation 
of such poetry to the characters using it. 

Bassanio. — Entirely worldly, but on a high plane. His attitude 
toward Portia. A brilliant and high-minded adventurer; young, 
loving the senses, honorable and chivalrous. Is Bassanio a true 
type of the Italian gentleman, or dees he belong in Shakespeare's 
England ? 

Portia. — First presentation of Portia. Overflow of warm life in 
her as in the gay young Venetian gentlemen. Her wit, humor, light- 
ness of touch, yet underlying seriousness. Her knowledge of the 
world and command of every situation, without losing womanly 
charm. 

Shylock. — How the way has been prepared for the initial presenta- 
tion of Shylock. The flame burning within him. Central tendency 
of his character. 

The Jew in Elizabethan England. Marlowe'a treatment of the 
Jew. Cause* for the hatred of the Jew. Shakespeare neither cater- 
ing to the conventional prejudice nor giving the moralist's protest 



against it. The question whether Shakespeare^s original intention 
was to do what he has accomplished in the character of Shylock. 

The clowns. — Gobbo and his father. VVliat they add to the play. 
The relation of Shakespeare's humorists to the conventional clowns 
of the Elizabethan stage. 

Jessica. — The third strand of the plot. The cruelty of adolescence 
in Jessica. Yet charm of her spirit. The question whether Shake- 
speare has been true to the Hebrew in portraying Jessica. 

Shylock's rage. — Gratuitous insults to which Shylock is subjected. 
Justification for his blind reaction and thirst for revenge. The 
humanity of Shylock. Did Shakespeare mean to make Shylock so 
profoundly human, or was he carried bej'ond his intention as the 
character grew under his hands, until he produced a figure too vast 
for the plot and setting in which Shylock is placed? 

Bassanio's choice. — Exquisite presentation of Portia's womanhood 
in the casket scene. Her frank self-confession. Compare Miranda. 
Portia as uniting the wisdom of the woman of the world with the 
frankness and sincerity of the child of nature. 

The trial scene. — Shylock's fixed hate and Antonio's settled con- 
tempt. Portia's appeal. The legal quibble. Ethical questions raised 
by the solution of this scene: Shylock's hatred is justly punished, but 
what of his humanity? The innocent is rightly freed, but what of 
the mean, unpunished Jew-baiting by these "Christians"? 

Thus the sense in which "The Merchant of Venice" represents 
Shakespeare's ethical awakening. A new recognition of the laws of 
life, yet incompletely carried out. A new grasp of tragic character 
and conflict, but inadequate solution. 

Conclusion. — Apparently Shakespeare himself conscious of the 
pain and incompleteness at the close of Act IV. Thus Act V an 
anticlimax, yet necessary to calm all back again with the beauty 
of the night, music and the jests of the united lovers. But Shylock? 



Topics foe Study and Discussion. 

1. Shakespeare's interpretation of Venice. 

2. The relation of "The Merchant of Venice" to its sources. 

3. Compare in verse form "The Merchant of Venice" and "Love's 
Labor's Lost." 

4. The attitude of Elizabethan England toward the Jew. 

5. The character of Bassanio. 

10 



6. Compare Portia with Rosalind in "As You Like It," and with 
Juliet. 

7. What elements of Shylock's character remain unfulfilled? 

8. What elements in the plot of "The Merchant of Venice" arc 
left ethically incomplete? 

9. What is the artistic value of Act V in "The Merchant of 
Venice"? 



11 



IV. THE RELIEF m NATURE: AS YOU LIKE IT. 

Date of Composition.— Probably 1599 (Shakespeare 35). Prolific 
character of the years following "The Merchant of Venice." Seven 
plays probably within three years ; four of these dealing with English 
history. Shakespeare apparently turning from all the insincerity 
and perfidy of courts and kings to the sweet nature world and poetic 
fancy of "As You Like It" with a sense of profound relief. "As You 
Like It" a beautiful interlude between the histories and the tragedies. 

Sources. — "As You Like It" even better than "The Merchant of 
Venice" in illustrating Shakespeare's use of earlier material. Lodge's 
prose tale pleasant and full of interesting incident, but slight in 
character drawing. Shakespeare following the incident of the novel, 
but transfiguring its characters, while Audrey, Touchstone and Jaques 
do not appear in the novel at all. 

The plot. — Evidences of haste in the composition of "As You Like 
It." The character of Act I. The wrestling match. Rosalind's self- 
confession. Her place among Shakespeare's women. 

The forest of Arden. — The forest as the unifying center of the 
play. Yet the duke and others not willingly in the forest, but 
making the most of the "uses of adversity." 

Flight of Orlando and Adam. Shakespeare's treatment of the 
common people in Adam. 

Songs in "As You Like It." — Value of the exquisite lyrics in this 
play. Compare other dramas where songs are frequently introduced. 

Jaques. — His slight connection with the plot, yet great value as a 
half-cynical, half-humorous chorus. His reaction against the world 
whimsical and not too serious, yet setting the faults of the world off 
in perspective. Value of such general moralizing as in "All the 
world's a stage." 

The shepherds. — The human reality in Shakespeare's treatment of 
idyllic shepherd life as compared with other Elizabethans. Charm in 
the half-true idyl of country life. Shakespeare's delight in bringing 
the common life of the coimtryside into touch with the hangers-on 
from the court. 



Wooing of Savius and Phebe.— Neither too seriouf. Th« charttttr 
of Phebe. 

Rosalind and Orlando. — The imaginary wooing of Rosalind. 
Exquisite charm of Rosalind. Her ability to laugh at herself. Is It 
the forest that calls out Orlando's love? 

Touchstone and Audrey.— Value of the third pair of lovers not 
only in adding burlesque humor, but in keeping the play from any 
impression of too great seriousness. 

Solution of the plot. — Rosalind's scheme. Impossible elements in 
the series of fortunate accidents that make an entirely happy ending 
possible. Yet these elements dramatically acceptable in the forest 
of Arden and with the fancy and humor of the play. 

Shakespeare's attitude in "As You Like It."— No one character 
expressing directly Shakespeare's view of life, yet that view revealed 
in the moral background of the whole play. The mood of reaction, 
turning for relief to nature, yet still profoundly interested in human 
life and the play of its forces. Shakespeare returning from the 
beauty of nature and the fanciful situation of "As You Like It" to 
the human world with a new poAver to deal with its deepest forces in 
gravest conflict. 



Topics for Study and Discussion. 

1. Compare the attitude toward nature in "As You Like It" with 
that in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and in "The Winter's Tale." 

2. What evidences are there of haste in the composition of "As 
You Like It"? 

3. The two opposing views of human life in "As You Like It." 

4. Shakespeare's treatment of the shepherd idyl. 

5. The place of Rosalind among Shakespeare's women. 

6. What does Jaques add to the play? 

7. The significance of the strain of half-humorous pessimism in 
"As You Like It." 

8. What is the relation of "As You Like It" to the plays that 
precede and follow it? 

9. What indications are there in "As You Like It" that Shake- 
speare was ready to attempt the deeper problems of tragedy? 



V. THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE STATE: JULIUS 
CAESAR. 

Shakespeare's epoch of great tragedies. — The period from 1601 to 
l(i07 (Shakespeare 37-43). Wonderful series of works, including 
"Julius Ceesar," "Hamlet," "Othello," "Lear," "Macbeth" and "Antony 
and Cleopatra," falling in these years. Thus Shakespeare's deepest 
facing of human life with its forces in tragic conflict. 

Significance in "Julius Ccesar" as the first in the gi'eat tragic 
series. Shakespeare turning from English to Roman history. 
Studied balance and restraint in "Julius Caesar" with nothing of the 
wild sweep of passion marking "Lear" and "Macbeth." 

Shakespeare's grasp of Roman history. — Impressiveness in the 
great epoch of Rome. Awe-inspiring conflict of world-forces in the 
period of transition from republic to empire. Reasons why the 
transition was inevitable. Shakespeare's perfect gi'asp of the oppos- 
ing forces; hence truth in his interpretation of Rome. 

The theme in "Julius Caesar." — Conflict of the spirit of the dying 
republic with the spirit of the new born empire. Thus the real 
struggle one between world-forces and ideas rather than between 
individuals. This as the source of unity in the drama. 

Yet the struggle of world- forces expressed through individuals. 
Thus the two groups of characters, and, given their choice, the 
inevitableness of the destiny that awaits them. 

The Roman mob. — Significance in beginning with the presentation 
of the rabble, since its character is the chief cause of the doom of 
the republic and the coming of the empire. 

Brutus. — Introduction to nearly all the great characters in Scene 
II. The type of man Shakespeare has drawn in Brutus. The noble 
narrowness of Brutus; his fine devotion to lofty principles, but utter 
inability to understand men and deal with practical affairs. The 
harrafulness and helpfulness of such a man in action. 

Cassius. — Dramatic contrast between Cassius and Brutus. Cassius 
an opportunist, without principles, but capable of adjusting himself 
skillfully to circumstances. 

14 



IDhe conspiracy. — The storm. Shakespeare^s use of nature to 
deepen dramatic impression. The soliloquy of Brutus; compare 
those of Hamlet. Shakespeare's unerring dramatic instinct in intro- 
ducing the discussion about the sunrise. Why is Cassius overruled 
by Brutus at every point? 

Portia. — The one ray of light among these hard Roman characters. 
Portia's slight appearance in the play, yet great dramatic value. 
Essential womanliness of Portia; not a stoic naturally, but trying to 
live to the standard of stoicism as the one pleasing to the man she 
'oves. Tenderness of Brutus toward her. 

Caesar. — Shakespeare's truth to the dramatic situation in present- 
ing Caesar as vacillating, superstitious and boastful. The courage of 
the battle that supported him while he was climbing toward victory. 
The fearf ulness that grew upon him on finding himself master of the 
World, yet unable to assure the permanence of his power, while the 
tradition he had ruthlessly violated daily grew more ominously 
powerful. Compare Napoleon. 

The murder at the Capitol. — Attitude of Brutus. Can living to an 
idea pass over into acting a part in a spectacle? Compare Victor 
Hugo. The behavior of Antony. Different appeals to him by Brutus 
and Cassius. 

Antony. — A brilliant adventurer, generous in impulses, unprin 
cipled, lovable and pleasure-loving. Antony a past master in the 
arts of the demagogue. Subtle sophistry but marvelous psychology 
in his oration to the mob, in contrast to the laconic character and 
studied restraint of the speech of Brutus. Compare Marcus Aurelius 
with Antony and Brutus. 

War and fate. — Quarrel between Brutus and Cassius. Cassius ablo 
to start Brutus, but not to regulate him; thus Cassius overruled by 
Brutus to disaster. Behavior of Brutus in regard to the death of 
Portia. The ghost of Caesar. 

Inevitable result of the battle as giving outward expression to 
what was already an accomplished fact. 

Impression of the play. — Type of emotion aroused by the drama. 
Fate in the play. The two ways of producing dramatic impression: 
(1) By unexpected situations and denouement; (2) By presenting 
situations already known to the spectator, but of which the char- 
acters upon the stage are ignorant. "Julius Caesar" as of the second 
type, hence classical rather than romantic. Thus exercising the 
"purgative" effect in a deeper sense than that meant by Aristotle. 

15 



Topics s-ob Study and Discussion. 

1. Shakespeare's grasp of the great conflict in Roman history. 

2. The artistic character of the drama of "Julius Caesar.'* 

3. The dramatic use of the supernatural in "Julius Csesar." 

4. What forces are in conflict in this drama and through what 
individuals do these forces find expression? 

6. The character of Brutus. 

6. Compare Brutus and Hamlet. 

7. What is the effect of such a man as Brutus on human society ? 

8. Is Shakespeare's presentation of the vacillation and boasting of 
Ca3sar justified? 

9. The character of Portia. 

10. The two orations. 



16 



VI. WORLD-FORCES AND THE INDIVIDUAL: 
ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 

Introduction.— "Antony and Cleopatra'* written probably in 1607 
(Shakespeare 43). Thus at other end of great series of tragedies 
as compared with "Julius Caesar." As dealing with the next phase 
of ancient history challenging comparison with "Julius- Csesar," and 
especially valuable to study immediately following. 

Subject of the drama. — Rapid change in the character of the Roman 
world after the death of CaBsar. The struggle of Brutus the last 
gasp of the republic. Now possible for powerful individuals to dare 
anything without fear of the Nemesis of the past. Thus the world 
a stake to be played for by great individuals. 

Shakespeare's grasp of the later phase of ancient history as true 
as of the earlier phase. Thus the theme of "Antony and Cleopatra" 
the conflict betw^een the passions of individuals, with the world as 
the prize. Interesting that at 37 Shakespeare was studying the con- 
flict of ideas and principles, while at 43 he was sounding the deeps 
of human passion, interested in the personal spirit rather than in the 
objective destiny of mankind. 

Poetry of "Antony and Cleopatra."— The contrast in spirit between 
the two Roman plays carried out in the poetic form. Sweep of super- 
lative language and splendid outpouring of magnificent imagery in 
"Antony and Cleopatra." 

The conflict in Antony.— The Antony in this play a fulfillment of 
the Antony of "Julius Caesar." His love of power and the leadership 
of men; his passion for Cleopatra. The struggle between the two 
passions. Thus the conflict non-moral rather than between good 
and evil. 

Cleopatra. — An elemental woman. The great biological forces 
strong in her. Her subtleties due to primitive instinct rather than 
cultivation. Her conscious use of every charm; a courtesan, but 
what a courtesan! She is of the earth, but earth that is almost fire. 
Thus she, too, is rather non-moral than immoral. Her charm and 
fascination for everyone as for Antony. 

IT 



Octavius Caesar. — But one passion in Csesar: cold love of power, 
This passion steadily and remorselessly affirmed. Thus imity in the 
character of Caesar, while discord in Antony. Yet Antony lovable 
while Csesar repellent. 

Antony's marriage with Octavia.— \Miy Csesar desired the mar- 
riage. Did he imagine it would hold Antony? Why Antony ac- 
cepted. Comments below stairs. Attitude of Enobarbus. Contrast 
between Octavia and Cleopatra. Cleopatra's reception of the news. 
What would be merely shrewish in another woman fascinating in her. 

The feast at Misenum.— Pompey's temptation. Significance of his 
refusal. Contrast in attitude of the two masters of the world. 

Value of the brief interjected scene representing Ventidius in 
Syria, in connecting the play of personal passions with the objective 
destiny of Rome. Every man for himself; but through interest and 
aflFection personal loyalty to a leader. Contrast the loyalty to ideas 
in "Julius Caesar," 

Return of Octavia. — The beginning of the end. Was Caesar or 
Antony more to blame for the break between them? Why is our 
sympathy not more aroused for Octavia? 

Actium. — Antony's increasing blindness as his fortunes fail. Com- 
pare Napoleon. Did Cleopatra mean to try her power over Antony 
when she fled from the battle? 

The end of Antony. — The defeat at Actium the real conclusion of 
Antony's fortunes, yet more than two acts remaining before the 
close of the play. This last half of the play an unexampled illustra- 
tion of long-sustained dramatic interest after the crisis in objective 
action. Possible because our interest is in the sweep of passion in 
individuals rather than in objective fortunes in the world. 

The lion at bay. How Antony rises toward the end. Splendor of 
the language and imagery in which the wild SAveep of his passion is 
expressed. The cold meanness of Caesar in contrast to Antony's 
magnanimity. The end. 

The end of Cleopatra.— Cleopatra the coquette to the last; yet she 
too rises. At once complex and simple. Oriental and universal, she 
is a fitting mate for Antony. Whence had Shakespeare the power to 
draw this woman? 

What such a play does for us: impresses with the play of ele- 
mental forces; sense of awe and majesty rather than justice. The 
mystery of human life. 



It 



Topics for Study and Discussiow. 

1. Compare the Antony of this play with the Antony in "Julius 
Caesar." 

2. The change in the character of the Roman world between the 
death of Julius Caesar and the battle of Actium. 

3. The contrast in language and imagery between "Julius Ctesar" 
and "Antony and Cleopatra." 

5. Shakespeare's interpretation of the East. 

6. The function of Enobarbus in the play. 

7. The character of Cleopatra. 

8. Compare Antony and Octavius Caesar. 

9. The effect of such a play as "Antony and Cleopatra" upon the 
imagination and the emotions. 



19 



VII. FACING THE MYSTERY: HAMLET. 

Introduction. — "Hamlet" the center of Shakespeare^s interpretation 
of life and also of the mystery of Shakespeare. Its non-Elizabethan, 
introspective quality. Thus modern character, yet rising to a uni- 
versal problem. Probably written immediately after "Julius Caesar," 
in 1602 (Shakespeare 38), and followed by ^'Othello," "Lear," "Mac- 
beth" and "Antony and Cleopatra." Thus Shakespeare completely 
matured and ready to deal with the deepest problems of human life. 

The many-sided world in "Hamlet." — "Hamlet" a good acting play. 
If the central character all-absorbing, nevertheless broad interpreta- 
tion of life. The foiu* tragedies in "Hamlet": of thought or inner 
conflict in Hamlet; of guilt in the king; of weakness in the queen; 
of fate or circumstances in Ophelia. 

Further range of characters. Horatio the man of action. Laertes 
a foil for Hamlet. The garrulous, prudential counselor Polonius. 
The "sponges that suck up the countenance of the king." Common 
soldiers, and Ghost. Thus a many-sided world, yet the play center- 
ing at every point on the mystery of Hamlet's personality. 

Hamlet. — Qualities revealed by his first soliloquy: (1) Fine moral 
sensibility: (2) Tendency to turn every stimulus into an intellectual 
generalization. What these two qualities produce in human life. 

Burden laid upon Hamlet by the revelation of the Ghost. This 
the truest ghost that ever walked, as giving external form to Ham- 
let's suspicion with an added bit of corroborative evidence. 

What Hamlet does after the vanishing of the Ghost. The intense 
stimulation turned into a new intellectual generalization. "Wild and 
whirling words." Already the plan to pretend madness: why? 

The question why Hamlet is unable to carry his resolution into 
action; this as the crux of the play. Is it explained by the two tend- 
encies of his character? Balance of the will as the result of the 
conflict of sub-conscious instinct and feeling with reasoned con- 
viction. 

The two possible solutions to the situation Hamlet confronts. 
Proof in "The Tempest" that Shakespeare understood consciously the 
higher solution. Hamlet's failure to affirm either solution in action. 



Hence drifting with tlie tide. Hence the decisive actions of Hamlet 
resulting from impulse or tlie overturning of the balance of the will 
by a mood of sudden indignation. Compare in the killing of Polo- 
nius, of Rosenerantz and Guildenstein, of the king. Sigiiificance that 
Hamlet feels relief rather than remorse after these actions. 

The "antic disposition."— The pretended madness as a protecting 
garment which would be ehospu only by a man of keenest intellect, 
enjoying mental operations for their own sake. \Vhy Hainlet needs 
any protection. The content of pessimism and despair expressed 
through the appaient madness. The two reasons for Hamlet's pes- 
simism. 

Complete expression of Hamlet's reaction on life in his great 
soliloquy. Note that, with one exception, the reasons he gives for 
suicide do not belong in his life. Hamlet considering the problem of 
life upon the whole: not "Shall I die?" but "Has life a meaning?" 

Ophelia. — Delicate, even fragile, character of Ophelia. Absence of 
heroic womanhood in her exquisite nature. Significance that slie 
fails Hamlet just at the point when he most needs a friend who 
could appreciate. Does she knowingly let herself be used to trap 
Hamlet? Significiinee that she is so used and meets him with com- 
monplaces immediately following his deepest facing of life in the 
great soliloquy. The two moods contending together in Hamlet. 
The one mood in Ophelia. 

The play within the play. — Hamlet's counsel to the actors. His 
attitude during and after the by -play. His capacity for vigorous and 
consecutive action where the elements of his spirit are in harmony. 
Compare his behavior in his mother's closet. Why Hamlet does 
not kill the praying king. 

Ophelia's tragedy. — Breaking of her mind under the strain. Con- 
trast between her insanity and Hamlet's assumed madness. In 
Ophelia's insanity the white light of truth sifted through the 
spectrum of her broken mind so that we get only the refracted 
colors. 

The graveyard. — Wrong criticism of this dark scene. The clowns 
and Hamlet brought together into the presence of the end of all 
that we can see of human life! Artistic and moral effect. 

The end. — Mood in which the diti'erent characters enter the last 
scene. Hamlet with the ill feeling about his heart. The queen's 
tragedy. 

Relief of Hamlet when he has killed the king. Why he desires 
Horatio to live to tell the story. Hamlet's glimpse of light at the 

21 



end: recognition that the universe is law-abiding; hunger that men 
may see that it is so. Then the curtain falling with no further 
solution of the mystery. 

Hamlet and Shakespeare. — Contrast in moral background between 
■'Hamlet" and all other dramas of Shakespeare. Contrast the 
presentation without solution of the problem and mystery of human 
life in "Hamlet" A\'ith the answers given in the conclusion of other 
masterpieces of literature. Was ''Hamlet" Shakespeare's own facing 
of the mystery of life? Possible reasons for such a mood in Shake- 
speare's experience. Thus the depth of impression in "Hamlet" 
due to the intimate relation of the work to the soul of its author 
as well as to the fact that the mystery of life is greater than all 
the solutions for it human minds have proposed. 



Topics for Study and Discussion. 

1. Compare in ethical completeness "Hamlet" and "The Merchant 
jf Venice." 

2. Compare Brutus and Hamlet. 

3. What reasons are there for regarding "Hamlet" as Shake- 
speare's masterpiece? 

4. Compare the interpretation of human life in "Hamlet" with 
that in the "Divine Comedy" and in "Faust." 

5. What different solutions are possible to the problem Hamlet 
confronts ? 

6. What light does "The Tempest" throw on Shakespeare's view 
of Hamlet? 

7. Why does Hamlet put on the "antic disposition"? 

8. The artistic and ethical value of the graveyard scene. 

9. The character and tragedy of Ophelia. 

10. ^\^lat does this drama reveal concerning Shakespeare's ex- 
perience and fundamental attitude toward human life? 



22 



VIII. THE TRAGEDY OF LOVE AND JEALOUSY : 
OTHELLO. 

The tragedies of passion. — Shakespeare turning from the mystery 
of "Hamlet" to the darkest tragic phases of human experience and 
with sure hand and perfect insight portraying them. No question 
as to the solution in "Othello," "Lear," "Macbeth." These worlcs 
as Shakespeare's greatest objective facing, as "Hamlet" is his intro- 
spective facing, of human life. 

The tragedy of fate. — Uniqueness of "Othello" as presenting, in 
Desdemona, the purest tragedy of fate or circumstances. This as 
one of the foiu' tragedies in "Hamlet," and studied elsewhere by 
Shakespeare in many characters, yet nowhere so complete as in 
Desdemona. Even Ophelia cooperates through weakness with the 
fate that crushes her; even Juliet lifts her hand against herself; 
Cordelia's unnecessary pride and reserve invite misfortune; while 
in Desdemona the fate wholly outside, darkening to utter eclipse 
at the end. Thus the tragedy here so pathetic that one takes up 
the play with a conscious shrinking from the oppression of its 
terrible blackness. 

Scene. — Interesting contrast with Shakespeare's presentation 
of Venice eight years earlier. In "The Merchant of Venice" the 
youth, adventure, brilliancy and pleasure-loving spirit of Venice. 
In "Othello" the stateliness and power of Venice with the mingling 
of races and the perfidy of the worst type of Italian character. 

lago. — "Othello" unique further in presenting Shakespeare's com- 
pletest villain. Other evil characters in Shakespeare showing some 
trait of redeeming humanity. The cold, unmixed, causeless malice 
of lago. Compare lago not accepting what he himself suggests as 
the cause of his hate. 

The play opening with lago, since he is the plot. His confession: 
preferring to believe in "just the vile of life." Compare Guido Fran- 
ceschini and Mephistopheles. lago a more living villain than eith«r 
of the others, yet more extreme. 

Othello. — lago's machinations futile but for Othello's weakness. 

23 



The character of Othello. His love of freedom and action; am- 
bition for honor and fame. His somewhat pompous language. 
Othello in a lofty way wrapped up in himself, and not entering 
easily into the spirit and attitude of others. Thus while strong in 
action, a mere child in judging men. Such a character fitted to do 
great evil and gi'eat good. 

Othello's love for Desdemona. — Othello deeply drawn by Desde- 
mona's beauty and sweetness; flattered by her love for him; yet not 
understanding her. The wide differences between them. Joy, yet 
danger in their union. 

Desdemona. — Gentleness, yet heroic womanhood in Desdemona. 
Contrast Ophelia. Compare Pompilia. Desdemona's love for Othello. 
Deep loyalty of her natine. 

lago's plot. — Roderigo the gaiilty tool of lago; Cassio the inno- 
cent tool; Othello the easy victim. Why does Othello yield so 
instantly to the vulgarity of lago's mind? What Othello should 
have done to lago. What Desdemona would have done in similar 
circumstances. Othello's quick yielding a proof that he had never 
entered appreciatively into the spirit of Desdemona. 

Tragic intensity. — Shakespeare's use of Desdemona's handkerchief. 
Cobweb films of the plot lago spins. The subtle skill with which lago 
pon\mands all elements of the scheme. Yet possibility increasing of 
some accident that would shatter the plot and clear up everything. 
This possibility as lending the terrible intensity to the tragedy of 
fate or circumstances. If only Emilia were to act on her sus- 
picions, Roderigo to appeal, or Cassio to speak; but no! 

Desdemona's bewilderment. Her instinctive desire for time, know- 
ing something must happen. Blinding pathos in the scene of hei 
death. Medical impossibility but poetic reality in her awakening. 
Her persistent loyalty and truth in spirit imder her last lie. 

The swift consequences. — The fabric of lago's fine-spun plot shat- 
tered. The truth evident, but too late. Recoil of Othello in horror. 
The end. 

Thus the darkening to eclipse. The play intensely romantic, yet 
withal grave, deep emotion left at the end. We seem with the 
dramatist to be looking down upon human life. Fate almost un- 
bearable, yet deeply instructive, becHUse ilkuviinating the strength 
and weakness of human life. 



24 



Topics for Study aptd Discussion. 

1. Is lago a possible character? 

2. Compare lago with Guido Fraiiceschini in "The Ring and the 
Book" and with Mephistopheles in "Faust." 

3. The character of Othello's love for Desdemotm. 

4. The character of Desdemona's love for Othello. 

5. Why does Othello yield so readily to the vulgarity of lago's 
mind? 

6. Desdemona as a type of heroic womanhood. 

7. Compare Desdemona with Ophelia and with Browning's Pompilia. 
S. Shakespeare's dramatic use of Desdemona's handkerchief. 

9. The relation of Othello's rage to ordinary jealousy. 

10. What view of life underlies the drama of "Othello"? 



2b 



IX. THE TRAGEDY OF UNFOUNDED TRUST: LEAR. 

General character of "King Lear." — "Lear" partaking of the char- 
acter of "Othello" on the one hand and "Macbeth" on the other. 
Probability that it was written betw^een the two. The tragedy of 
fate as in "Othello." Compare in Cordelia, Gloster, Kent, Edgar, 
Lear. The tragedy of guilt as in "Macbeth." Compare in Goneril, 
Regan, Edmund, Cornwall. Yet the tragedy not strictly of either 
type, since the victims of fate cooperate with their own destiny, 
while there are modifying elements even in Goneril and Regan. 

Shakespeare's creed. — As uniting the two types of tragedy 'T-ear" 
the best opportunity to study Shakespeare's creed. That creed not 
simply the return of the deed on the doer. Shakespeare's rcognition 
of the fact that every deed cooperates with the universe working 
consequences for others as well as for the doer. Thus guilt result- 
ing in disaster to the innocent as well as punishment for the guilty. 
Thus the combination of fate and justice in human life. "Lear" the 
most complete expression of this in Shakespeare. 

Scene.— Mythical Britain. Contrast the scene of "Othello" in 
renaissance Venice. In "Othello" the exquisite refinements of char- 
acter in good and evil, with the barbaric strength of the Moor. In 
"Lear" the great primitive passions unleashed. Easier to accept in 
a legendary age than in a period of civilization. 

The character of Lear. — Old, impulsive, headstrong, warmly affec- 
tionate. His weakness accentuated by age which clouds hi» judgment 
and makes him whimsical. 

The three daughters. — Goneril and Regan as brazen, selfish, time- 
serving. Difi"erences between them in character. The unnecessary 
pride and reserve of Cordelia. Accentuated by the lying flattery of 
her false sisters. 

The sub-plot.— Character of Edmund's villainy. Effect of the 
sub-plot on the general impression of the drama. 

The Fool and Edgar.— These two as chorus to Lear. Compare 
Touchstone and Jaques in "As You Like It" and note Shakespeare's 
growth. 

Lear and the storm. — The best example of Shakespeare's use of 

26 



aature to express human passion. The rage of Lear. How Shake- 
speare avoids ranting. Significance in Lear's recurrence to the 
prayer that he may not be mad. 

Gloster's tragedy. — Effect of the scene where Gloster's eyes are 
torn out by Cornwall. The moral horror above the physical. What 
Gloster's suffering adds to the whole effect of the drama. 

Reaction of Albany. Contrast in character with Cornwall. Sig- 
nificance in the fact that Cornwall is the first to meet punishment. 

The return of Cordelia. — Lear's madness. Compare Ophelia. Ex- 
quisite maternity of Cordelia toward Lear. How her character 
expands and rises. Note if the play ended with Act IV impression 
similar to the conclusion of "The Tempest" and "The Winter's 
Tale." But in "Lear" the tragic motive too deep and developed too 
far. Thus necessity for the last tragic act. 

Conclusion of the tragedy. — The battle. Pathetic joy of Lear at 
the thought of life in prison with Cordelia. Deaths of Edmund, 
Goneril, Regan: contrast the impression of the wholesale slaughter 
in "Titus Andronicus." 

Lear with the dead body of Cordelia. Must it end so? Compare 
human life and the creed of Shakespeare. Has tragedy ever risen 
higher than in these closing scenes? 

General impression of the drama. — Tragic passion sustained in the 
widest sweep of its storm. Is the sense of justice satisfied, while 
fatal elements are made tragically inevitable? How "Lear" wakens 
us to the wonder and sweep of life — not to the darkness of its 
inner mystery as in "Hamlet," or the horror of its black eclipse 
as in "Othello," or to the wild play of its non-moral forces as in 
"Antony and Cleopatra," but to the spectacle of its unleashed storm 
with good and evil elements together and working out their inevit- 
able consequences in cooperation with nature. 



Topics for Study and Discussion. 

1. Compare Cordelia with Desdemona, Portia in "The Merchant of 
Venice," and Miranda. 

2. Compare lago with the evil characters in "King Lear." 

3. Compare the Fool in "King Lear" with Touchstone in "As 
You Like It." 

4. The effect upon the emotions of the scene where Gloster's eyes 
are torn out. 

27 



6. What is the artistic value of Shakespeare's use of the tempest 
in nature to express the moral tempest? 

6. Compare "King Lear" with "Antony and Cleopatra" in total 
moral effect. 

7. Compare "King Lear" with "Hamlet" in the presentation of 
the mystery of human life. 

8. Compare Edgar's assumed madness with Hamlet's. 

9. The value of placing the scene of "Lear" in a mythical age. 

10. Is the tragic ending of Lear and Cordelia artistically necessary? 



28 



X. THE TRAGEDY OF AMBITION : MACBETH. 

The tragedy of guilt.— "Macbeth" the third in Shakespeare's great 
tragic trilogy. As in "Othello" the most complete tragedy of cir- 
cumstances so here the purest tragedy of guilt. Where the other 
type of tragedy appears, as in Lady Macduff, it is entirely subordi- 
nated, while in the principal characters impressiveness results from 
guilt working out its inevitable doom. This as explaining why 
"Macbeth" with all its humanity does not arouse our sympathy as 
"Othello" or "Lear," but leaves us satisfied with the moral order 
of the universe and the sure return of the deed upon the doer. 

The single ethical basis in "Macbeth."— A naturally good char- 
acter marred by one evil passion — wild ambition — and stimulated 
by the more restlessly and consistently evil element in his partner 
in crime. The drama simply the working out of this motive to its 
certain conclusion. 

Thus a terrible simplicity in "Macbeth." Omission of all dis- 
tracting elements. Minor tragedies not allowed to turn aside our 
interest, but only to deepen our sense of the guilt and punishment 
of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. 

Shakespeare versus Dante. — Contrast in interest between the two 
revealed most completely by "Macbeth." The two consequences of 
every deed: the immediate effect upon the soul; the slowly working 
out result in the world. Dante's main interest in the first, Shake- 
speare's in the second. Thus Dante the spiritual, Shakespeare the 
natural revealer of ethical law. Contrast Shakespeare's treatment 
of the results of wild ambition with what Dante would have given. 

Yet in Shakespeare natural consequences worked out more com- 
pletely than they appear in human life in this world. The law 
brought full circle. Thus prophetic or ideal element in Shakespeare. 

Swift movement in "Macbeth." — Due to rapid composition, or 
rather to the ethical character of the drama? Evidences that the 
work was produced at high pressure at the maturity of Shake- 
speare's power. 

The Witches. — Value not only in giving artistic atmosphere, but 
as suggesting the vague forces of evil cooperating with Macbeth. 



Compare how when one chooses evil one is urged on from without 
by the darker elements of life. Compare in dramatic reality the 
Witches with the Ghost in "Hamlet." 

Macbeth. — Revelation of his character in its first presentation. 
Macbeth's soliloquy: his perception of the consequences of the action 
to which he is drawn, yet affirming the action. Character of his 
imagination. 

Lady Macbeth. — Impressive contrast between Lady Macbeth and 
her husband. Terrible strength in her, yet not a touch of the 
masculine. Shakespeare's remarkable feat in keeping her entirely 
womanly, in spite of what she does. Her strength that of will and 
fine nervous organization — the peculiar strength of a woman. Thus, 
too, her nature breaking where Macbeth's gathers crude force to 
plunge forward. As the finest string on the violin gives the highest 
and clearest note, but strained too far breaks, so Lady Macbeth. 

Lady Macbeth's ambition. Reasons for believing that she was 
moved by an independent thirst for power. Contrast Portia's rela- 
tion to her husband in "Julius Caesa.r." 

The murder. — The tragic impression more terrific than if murder 
were represented on the stage. Contrast the scene in "Lear" where 
Gloster's eyes are torn out: there the victim is the center of our 
interest, here the criminals. Thus Duncan is in the background, 
while the emotions and thoughts of Lady Macbeth and her husband 
are brought home to us. 

The porter of hell-gate. Double value of introducing this scene 
of gi'im humor here. 

The madness of crime. — Note that the murder of Duncan occurs 
in Scene II of Act II. All the rest of the play simply the working 
out of the doom. Yet first necessary that the criminal should heap 
further crimes on himself. Thus Banquo's murder. 

Significant that Macbeth and his wife have no joy in the fruits 
of their crime. Ghastly ring of his words of endearment to his wife. 

Banquo's ghost. — Recoil of the furies on the evil-doer. Macbeth's 
madness in crime and horror of crime increasing together. Lady 
Macbeth's skill in the banquet scene. Significant that she does not 
reprove her husband when the guests have gone. Is this the be- 
ginning of the end for her? 

Lady Macduff.— The scene of playful tenderness between Lady 
^lacduff and her son needed to bring out all the charming delicacy 
of womanhood which Lady Macbeth possessed, but which she utterly 
suppressed in herself. The murder of Macduff's family Macbeth's 

30 



most unnecessary crime; thus fitted to close the series and initiate 
the recoil of the world upon the evil-doer. 

Lady Macbeth's tragedy.— Breaking of the woman's finer na- 
ture. Shakespeare's marvelous skill in the sleep-walking scene. 
Compare Ophelia's insanity. The tenderness in the sleep-walking 
scene needed to show all the contrast of Lady Macbeth's rich nature. 
Thus our sympathy with the criminal, yet acceptance of the justice 
of the punishment. 

Tlie end of Ivlacbslii.— Contrast between the man and the woman. 
The coarser strength with which the man rises. The wounded tiger. 
Reckless bravery of Macbeth. Verbal fulfillment of the Witches' 
promises, but opposite to Macbeth's expectations. Truth of this 
to human life. 

Impression with which we are left at the end: a weird tempest 
of the north, with lightning striking the criminal. Romantic quality 
of "Macbeth"; incidents not foreseen; yet moral law complete and 
inevitable. Thus sense that all is well. 



TOPICS FOR Study and Discussion. 

1. Was Lady Macbeth independently ambitious or was she merely 
responding to the desire of her husband? 

2. The type of courage displayed by Lady Macbeth. 

3. The Witches and their function in the play. 

4. Contrast in artistic impressiveness and ethical value the 
tragedies of "Othello" and "Macbeth." 

5. The reasons for the large number of epigrammatic and quotable 
passages in "Macbeth." 

6. Show how the universe cooperates with a man who chooses evil 
as with one who chooses good. 

7. Lady Macbeth as a type of womanhood. 

8. Compare Macbeth's soliloquies with those of Hamlet. 

9. Compare the dramatic use of the supernatural in "Macbeth" 
and in "Hamlet." 



31 



Xi. THE STORY OF HUMAN LIFE: THE 
WINTER S TALE. 

Shakespeare's concluding period. — The works which come at the 
end of Shakespeare's creative life: "Cymbeline," "The Winter's 
Tale" and "The Tempest" (1609-1611 or later, Shakespeare 45-47). 
These plays involving deeply tragic elements: compare the motive 
of "Othello" and the plot of "Hamlet"; yet ending happily. Thus 
"romances" rather than comedies or tragedies. Following these a 
few years of quiet life at Stratford and then the end of Shake- 
speare's life in 1616. 

The road Shakespeare had travelled. — Review of Shakespeare's de- 
velopment. Strain upon the spirit from facing as he had done the 
deepest phases of human life in tragic conflict. No doubt that in 
his greater tragedies Shakespeare's dramatic power rises highest and 
his interpretation of human life is most impressive. Reasons for 
this. Yet natural turning away from these saddest chapters on the 
part of Shakespeare. Significance of the change which often comes 
about the age of forty in one's view of life. Subsidence of tragic 
power in the later works due, not to the decay of it in Shakespeare, 
but to his disinclination to use it. 

Peculiar ethical significance of the later works. — Calm perspective, 
serene wisdom and clear vision of the worth of life. The new ele- 
ment of forgiveness. Compare no forgiveness in nature. Thus in 
the great tragedies Shakespeare the natural moralist showing the 
deed cooperating with fate as doom. In the later works a recogni- 
tion of the fact that a change in the spiritual attitude of the evil- 
doer alters the consequences of his deed upon his own soul. Hence 
repentance, forgiveness, magnanimity, reconciliation. How Shake- 
speare in these later works approximates in his own way Dante's 
spiritual interpretation of life. Significance in connection with his 
own character and experience that he should have risen to this 
view at the end. 

"The Winter's Tale." — A romantic story of human life, covering 
a long period of time, and containing many improbabilities and many 

32 



accidents that could not have been anticipated. Shakespeare's near- 
est approach to the modern novel. Compare "The Winter's Tal«" 
with a true fairy story in which ordinary limitations of the sense- 
world are removed, but character is faithfully carried out. 

Leontes's jealousy.— Compare the motif here and in Othello. 
Causeless character of the jealousy of Leontes. The low suspicion 
and jealous disposition of Leontes in contrast to the frank, impul- 
sive nature of Othello. 

Hermione. — Austerity yet tenderness in the character of Hermione. 
Compare Cordelia's reserve. Strong, self-respecting independence of 
Hermione. 

Paulina. — Unmatched among Shakespeare's women. Good-hearted 
shrewishness of Paulina. Her function toward Leontes as avenging 
minister. 

Punishment of Leontes. — Loss of Perdita, death of Mamillius, sup- 
posed death of Hermione and loss of her by Leontes for sixteen 
years. Wealth of tragic elements in the play! 

Florizel and Perdita. — Florizel as Shakespeare's most worthy and 
loyal young lover. His truth to the shepherd's daughter. Exquisite 
charm in Perdita. Compare Hermione. 

Shakespeare's belief that blood will tell. Possibility of a Perdita 
in the shepherd's family. Charm of the idyllic world where every 
beautiful shepherd girl proves to be the daughter of a king. 

The shepherd's feast. — Realism in Shakespeare's treatment of 
simple country life. Compare the shepherds of "As You Like It." 
More sympathetic portrayal of common life than in earlier plays, 
yet Shakespeare still the aristocrat. 

Autolycus. — What Autolycus adds to the play. Significance that 
he receives no punishment for his tricks and petty thieving. 

Closing scenes. — Florizel and Perdita in Sicilia. Drawing of all 
strands of the story together. The statue of Hermione. Moving 
tenderness as well as impressiveness in the scene where the supposed 
statue awakens, and the husband finds his wife again, the long-lost 
daughter her mother. Tears of forgiveness and reconciliation. Com- 
pare with the impression of the close here the plays of the first 
period and the great tragedies. Thus possible almost to see Shake- 
speare lay down his pen with a sad, grave smile, a smile mingling 
in one the laughter and tears that rule with divided sway over the 
human heart. 



L.ofC. 



Topics foe Study and Discussion. 

1. What causes the subsidence of dramatic power in "The 
Winter's Tale" as compared with Shakespeare's great tragedies? 

2. Compare "Othello" and "The Winter's Tale" in plot and de- 
velopment. 

4. What resemblances has "The Winter's Tale" to a modern novel ? 

5. Compare Hermione with Desdemona, Cordelia, and with Portia 
in "Julius Caesar." 

6. The character of Perdita. 

7. The place of Autolycus among Shakespeare's jesters. 

8. Shakespeare's treatment of the common people in "The Winter's 
Tale." 

9. Compare the portrayal of the shepherds in "The Winter's Tale" 
and in "As You Like It." 

10. The ethical significance of the general spirit and conclusion 
of "The Winter's Tale" in relation to Shakespeare's own character 
and experience. 



84 



XII. THE FINAL ATTITUDE: THE TEMPEST. 

Date of "The Tempest."— Possibility that "The Tempest" was 
written for the marriage of the Princess Elizabeth in 1613 (Shake- 
speare 49). Certainty that "The Tempest" comes late, whether just 
before or after "The Winter's Tale." "The Tempest" the best expres- 
sion of Shakespeare's final attitude toward human life. 

Comparison of "The Winter's Tale" and "The Tempest."— Funda- 
mental likeness between the tAvo plays; both expressing the same 
spiritual attitude toward life; yet striking differences between them. 
"The Winter's Tale" a fireside story of human life; "The Tempest" 
presenting a critical moment in a life history — a moment interpret- 
ing the story preceding and following. Thus "The Tempest" ob- 
serving the "unities" intentionally violated in "The Winter's Tale." 

General character of "The Tempest."— Brevity of "The Tempest" 
and slight character of the action it involves. Yet this scarcely 
noticed, because of the marvelous range of character and depth of 
human problems presented. 

Scene. — The enchanted island of our dreams. Futile efforts of the 
more prosaic commentators to anchor this floating island, where 
every Prospero controls fate perfectly, where no fault or flaw ap- 
pears in will or reason in relation to nature and circumstances, 
where every Ferdinand finds his Miranda, and the good man's 
enemies are brought repentant or fearful to his feet. Thus the 
island where life is brought full circle, its tendencies to success and 
happiness completed. Compare Dante's Terrestrial Paradise. 

Prospero. — Before his exile Prospero a Hamlet, absorbed in intel- 
lectual problems and unable to express his depth of knowledge and 
wisdom in objective action. Similarity in the sufferings of Hamlet 
and Prospero. Miranda the redeeming element for Prospero. The 
needs of the little child, demanding simple but constant service, 
transforming the man of thought into the man of action, and 
bringing the deeply introspective spirit of Prospero into sane rela- 
tion with the forces of the universe outside. Thus Prospero has 
made his fate his education and Fortune is now his "dear lady." 

Shakespeare's creed of successful action. Man dependent upon 

35 



opportunity. Yet plenty of good and of bad fortune in every life. 
Success depends upon seizing the good opportunity when it comes. 
Shakespeare's evident belief that "there is a tide in the affairs 
of men." Thus Prospero dependent upon the "auspicious star." 
Had the king's ship not come near Prospero's island he could have 
done nothing. Given the opportunity, Prospero's use of it as the 
type of what makes successful living. 

Ariel and Caliban. — These as the symbols of Prospero's control 
of the forces of nature by reason and will. Significant that only 
in this instance did Shakespeare develop the kind of philosophical 
symbolism characteristic of the "Divine Comedy" and The Second 
Part of "Faust." Living quality in Shakespeare's allegorical 
symbols. 

Both Ariel and Caliban controlled by force, neither of them ap- 
preciating the moral qualities of humanity. Yet Ariel light, charm- 
ing, innocently mischevious, full of delicate grace; while Caliban 
brutal, ugly, monstrous. Thus Ariel a symbol of undeveloped na- 
ture, Caliban of humanity gone back to the plane of nature. 

Ferdinand and Miranda. — Success of Prospero's art in bringing 
them together. Peculiar charm in the frank innocence and com- 
plete self-confession of Miranda. Ideal quality in her awakening 
M^omanhood; yet danger and difficulty in its expression except in 
the island of om* dreams. 

The king and lords. — Peculiar atrocity in the plot of the wicked 
brothers. Note that if Prospero's wisdom failed or his will relaxed 
for a moment the result would be tragedy. 

Caliban, Stephano and Trinculo. — Significance in bringing the na- 
ture-monster into contact with these drunken degenerates of civil- 
ization. Lightness of Shakespeare's touch. The humor rather than 
the moral ugliness brought into the foreground. Frustration of the 
plot against Prospero. 

The by-play. — Prospero's epilogue as the crowning passage ex- 
pressing Shakespeare's sense of the transient spectacle and under- 
lying mystery of human life. Compare with Jaques's "All the 
world's a stage" to see how far Shakespeare has travelled. 

Forgiveness and magnanimity. — Prospero's attitude toward his 
repentant enemy; toward his unrepentant but submissive enemy. 
Suggestion here of the possible solution of "Hamlet." 

Prospero's abjuring of his power. Temptation to identify Shake- 
speare here with Prospero as earlier with Hamlet. Extent to whieb 
we may dare to go. 

16 



^he closing attitude toward life.— Contrast between Miranda and 
Prospero in the view of human life. Miranda's enthusiasm for the 
'*brave new world"; Prospero's recognition that Antonio and Sebas- 
tian are of that world. Childlike faith in Miranda; saddened wisdom 
of experience in Prospero. Yet Prospero, too, believing in human 
life; recognizing the pain in Miranda's path, yet glad of her wakened 
love;, knowing the evil in the world, yet wishing her to enter the 
world. Deep significance in this attitude. Thus the moral back- 
ground of "The Tempest." 

Significance of Shakespeare's final attitude.— The long road Shake- 
speare had travelled. Storms through which he had passed. Facing 
the mj^stery subjective and objective. Range and depth of his por- 
trayal of humanity. Yet throughout no sneer at love or virtue. He 
kept his faith in virtue, love, and in the worth and meaning of 
human life. This impossible had his life not been at once deep and 
substantially true. Significance that he could rise to the mood of 
serene acceptance which is the moral background and atmosphere 
of his latest plays. This mood as not the love of the senses as in 
the youth; not the deep reaction of the man; but the recognition 
that life with all its contradictions — its pain and joy, success and 
failure — is infinitely worth while. This mood as the wisdom of 
experience. Thus Shakespeare not only the greatest of objective 
dramatists, but perhaps the sanest as well as the broadest of inter- 
preters of human life. 



Topics for Study and Discussion. 

1. Compare in fundamental view of human life "A Midsummer 
Night's Dream," "Hamlet," and "The Tempest." 

2. Compare Miranda with Juliet, Perdita, and Portia in "The 
Merchant of Venice." 

3. Compare Ferdinand with Romeo, Orlando and Florizel. 

4. How far may we identify Shakespeare with Prospero? 

6. What view is given in "The Tempest" regarding the relation 
of reason and will to circumstance? 

6. What do Ariel and Caliban represent? 

7. Compare Prospero and Hamlet. 

8. Compare the conclusion of "The Tempest" and of "Hamlet." 

9. Contrast the views of life of Miranda and Prospero. 



BOOK LIST. 



Note to students. — For the intelligent appreciation of Shake- 
speare's works some preliminary knowledge of his epoch, of the facts 
and tradition of his life, and of the probable dates of composition 
of his dramas is needed. Such knowledge obtained, it cannot be 
emphasized too strongly that the student's time should be spent in 
studying Shakespeare, rather than books of criticism and commenta- 
tion concerning Shakespeare. Such books should be given but a 
small fraction of one's time, and should be used to stimulate reflec- 
tion and serve as a challenge to one's own thinking. On the other 
hand one should return to the dramas again and again, since one 
will find a more wonderful beauty and a deeper interpretation of 
life in them each time. The student is advised to read not only 
the dramas discussed in this course, but the whole series of Shake- 
speare's works in the order in which they were composed, as nearly 
as that has been ascertained. It is possible in this way, as in no 
other, to get a cumulative impression of Shakespeare's genius and a 
first-hand appreciation of the unfolding of his attitude toward human 
life. There is further a value in knowing something of the literary 
material from which Shakespeare so often drew plot and suggestion, 
since such knowledge only deepens one's sense of his power to make 
the dead live and dry bones clothe themselves with flesh. It will be 
worth while also to study one play from each of the important 
dramatists who were contemporaries of Shakespeare. 



TEXT. 
SHAKESPEARE, Plays, edited, with notes, in single volumes, by 
William J. Rolfe. American Book Company. 
Rolfe's edition is in convenient shape, and contains a sufficient 
amount of notes and illustrations for ordinary student purposes. 
Moreover, while expurgated for class use and thus sometimes losing 
vitality, the text is edited with a desirable spirit of reverence for 
the original as against the over- emended Shakespeare. 
The edition by Henry N. Hudson (Ginn and Company), is also good 



for student purposes, but more liberties are taken with the old text 
and the plays are soinewhat more dogmatically annotated. The 
Temple Shakespeare, edited by Israel Gollancz, is in delightful shape, 
but is briefly annotated. A very inexpensive issue of the single 
plays is that edited by Henry Morley in the National Library (Cas- 
sell and Company). The best single volume edition is the Globe, 
edited by Clark and Wright (The Macmillan Company). The Vario- 
rum Edition by Horace Howard Furness is, for the plays it covers, 
the definitive edition in collating all readings of the text and bring- 
ing together a mass of commentation and interpretative criticism 
from all sources. 



OTHER BOOKS. 

Baynes, Thomas Spencer. Shakespeare Studies and Essay on English 
Dictionaries. Longmans, Green and Co., New York. 

The most important of the Shakespeare studies is a re- 
print of the admirable article on Shakespeare in the Ency- 
clopaedia Britannica. 

Boas, Frederick S. Shakespeare and His Predecessors. Charles 
Scribner's Sons, New York. 

Brandes, George. William Shakespeare: A Critical Study. Will- 
iam Heinemann, London. 

Corson, Hiram. An Introduction to the Study of Shakespeare. D. 
C. Heath and Co., Boston. 

Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. Lectures and Notes on Shakespeare and 
Other English Poets. Bohn Library, George Bell and Sons, 
London. 

Dowden, Edward. Introduction to Shakespeare. ( Charles Scribner's 
Sons, New York. 

Dowden, Edward. Shakespeare. Literature Primers, edited by J. R. 
Green. D. Appleton and Co., New York. 

Dowden, Edward. Shakespeare: A Critical Study of His Mind and 
Art. Harper and Bros., New York. 

Elze, Karl. William Shakespeare. A Literary Biography, trans- 
lated by L. Dora Schmitz. Bohn Library, George Bell and 
Sons, London. 

Fleay, Frederick Gard. A Chronicle History of William Shake- 
speare, Player, Poet and Playmaker. John C. Nimmo, 
London. 

Gervinus, G. G. Shakespeare Commentaries. Translated under the 

SO 



author's superintendence by F, E. Bunnett. Scribner and 
Welford, New York. 

Halliwell-Phillipps, J. 0. Outlines of the Life of Shakespeare. 2 
vols., Longmans, Green and Co., London. 

Hazlitt, William. Characters of Shakespeare's Plays. Wiley and 
Putnam, New York. 

Hazlitt, W. C, Editor. Shakespeare's Library. A collection of the 
Plays, Romances, Novels, Poems and Histories employed by 
Shakespeare in the Composition of His Works. Reeves and 
Turner, London. 

Hudson, H. N. Shakespeare: His Life, Art and Characters. With 
an Historical Sketch of the Origin and Growth of the Drama 
in England. 2 vols. Ginn and Co., Boston. 

Jameson, Mrs. Anna. Shakespeare's Heroines: Characteristics of 
Women, Moral, Poetical and Historical. G. Newnes, Lon- 
don. 

Lee, Sidney. A Life of William Shakespeare. The Macmillan Co.. 
New York. 

Lounsbury, Thomas R. Shakespeare as a Dramatic Artist, with an 
Account of His Reputation at Various Periods. Charles 
Scribner's Sons^ New York. 

Mabie, Hamilton Wright. William Shakespeare, Poet, Dramatist and 
Man. The Macmillan Co., New York. 

Martin, Lady (Helen Faucit). On Some of Shakespeare's Female 
Characters. W. Blackwood and Sons, London. 

Moulton, Richard G. Shakespeare as a Dramatic Artist. A Popular 
Illustration of the Principles of Scientific Criticism. Claren- 
don Press, Oxford. 

Moulton, Richard G. The Moral System of Shakespeare. A Popular 
Illustration of Fiction as the Experimental Side of Phil- 
osophy. The Macmillan Co., New York. 

Swinburne, Algernon Charles. A Study of Shakespeare. Worthing- 
ton. New York. 

Ten Brink, Bernhaid. Five Lectures on Shakespeare. Translated by 
Julia Franklin. Holt and Co., New York. 

Ulrici, Hermann. Shakespeare's Dramatic Art. History and Char- 
acter of Shakespeare's Plays, translated by L. Dora Schmitz. 
2 vols. Bohn Library, George Bell and Sons, London. 

Ward, Adolphus William. A History of English Dramatic Literature 
to the Death of Queen Anne. 3 vols. The IMacmillan Co., 

4A 



New York. 
Wendell, Barrett. William Shakespeare. A Study in Elizabethan 

Literature. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. 
White, Richard Grant. Memoirs of the Life of William Shakespeare, 

with an Essay toward the Expression of His Genius, and 

an account of the Rise and Progress of the English Drama. 

Little, BroM'n and Co., Boston. 
White, Richard Grant. Studies in Shakespeare. Houghton, Mifflin 

and Co., Boston. 
Winter, William. Shakespeare's England. The Macmillan Co. New 

York, 



JAN 5 1905 



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